Chaos

Kaden woke up with a start for the second time today.

He immediately checked his body and breathed out a sigh of relief when he didn't find any traces of that sticky black substance.

Checking the time, he found it was only a bit past 7, but somehow he still felt completely rested. This was surprising as he had only slept for around five hours, usually he needed to get at least eight hours of sleep.

Was this another benefit of that mysterious space? He wondered, not finding anything else he could attribute this sudden development to.

He got out of bed and dressed himself in some clothes before walking down the stairs. His stomach growled, begging for something to fill it.

Thankfully it was a Saturday, and Bill always slept in during the weekend. The rest of the kids were still in bed as well.

It was nice to have the house to himself for an hour or two, it would give him some time to clear his thoughts.

Or that was what he had hoped… But somehow he had forgotten about one specific person, and when he walked into the kitchen he was faced with her immediately.

Sitting there at the dining room table was a stern looking middle aged woman, reading a newspaper as she drank her morning coffee.

Right, Jill had always been an early riser. How had he forgotten that? He admonished himself for being so distracted lately.

"Hm?…" Jill turned her head after hearing him, her expression was like she was looking at something unsightly the cat had dragged in, "Oh it's you, didn't know you were home." Her eyebrows lifted in a questioning manner, like she was asking him why he even bothered coming back at all.

"I came back late, don't worry, I won't stay for long," Kaden opened the fridge and looked for some stuff to eat.

"Good," She cleared her throat in a pompous manner, "The house has been so peaceful lately, I don't need you to muck it all up," Jill said and went back to reading her newspaper, doing her best to ignore his presence.

Kaden just snorted at her stuck up attitude, "Got it."

He found a sandwich in the fridge and took it to the living room, there was no way he wanted to be in the same room as Jill for longer than necessary. Besides, he was sure that she shared the same sentiment.

Sitting down in front of the television, he turned it on and took a bite out of the cold sandwich. It was a ham and cheese.

The television was on a channel that Bill liked to watch. Not a surprise, Bill was the only one who got to use the television, because when he was awake his ass would be parked in front of it all day.

It was only during the weekends if you woke up before him, or if you got to stay home on a weekday, that you could use it.

Right now a morning news show was on, talking dramatically about yesterday's fight. They lamented the loss of Edward Kang and complained that the aliens had let it happen.

It wasn't anything that Kaden disagreed with, but now he knew actions like this were useless. They as humans could complain all they wanted, but it didn't matter one bit what they said if no one cared to listen.

No, strength was needed to make someone listen and pay attention to your words. Without it, you would just be nothing but a whining ant in their eyes.

The barbaric truth was that nobody cared when ant's were stepped on, they just moved on with their day like it had never happened. It was the same way the aliens saw the people of Earth, it was the same way they had seen it when Vachir crushed Edward's skull. In their eyes, Vachir was just stepping on an ant.

The morning news show held a moment of silence for Edward, and Kaden found himself joining in, pausing his meal to pay respect to this martial artist he had once looked up to and admired.

When the moment was over, Kaden picked up the remote and turned off the television.

He didn't care for the speculations they were doing regarding the next fight, it didn't matter now. He didn't know what the results of the tournament would bring. But he didn't want to rely on the other fighters on Earth to protect him. He would take matters into his own hands, become strong, and ensure that nobody could ever look down on him.

"Boy what are you doing?" A voice came from behind him, and Kaden felt a shiver go down his neck as he recognized it.

This didn't make sense, that man always slept in until at least 10, why was he up so early?

"Can't you see what I'm doing? I'm just sitting here," Kaden replied, feeling as if he was speaking to an idiot.

"Look at me when you're talking, haven't I taught you to be polite?" Bill narrowed his eyes, not appreciating the disrespect he heard in Kaden's voice.

"Hah," Kaden turned around in his seat, facing Bill directly, their eyes locked, "I'm not sure you've taught me much of anything."

It was a contest of wills as both urged the other to back down.

"You.. I don't like the way you're looking at me boy," Bill puffed himself up, his neck veins throbbing.

"Why are you even up? Shouldn't you be sleeping off the alcohol? Go back to sleep," Kaden rolled his eyes, breaking off the eye contact. The man was obviously still very drunk.

Bill's face became flushed and his jaw clenched, if he was angry before, now he was furious, "Seems I've let you be for too long, you clearly don't know how to treat your betters. I've let you stay in my house for 15 years and you treat me like this? Do you think I'm afraid of you boy?" His voice continued to rise as he spoke, until he was yelling in the end.

Kaden sighed and stood up, his full height of 185 cm made him look down on Bill who was a few cm shorter, "I told you already, go back to sleep, this will end worst for yourself."

"You insolent—" Bill stepped forward and Kaden saw where this was going at once, putting up his hands to guard himself.

Bill's fist struck his left arm, and Kaden winced, feeling like he had been hit by a freight truck.

How?

This wasn't what he had been expecting, had Bill been training too? Last time Bill had hit him, it hadn't been anywhere near this painful.

He didn't have anytime to ponder further as the attack came again, this time slipping past his guard and hitting him on the left shoulder.

Stumbling back a few steps from the sheer force of the strike, he knew that he couldn't stay on the defensive like this. If he simply allowed Bill to keep hitting him as he wanted, he would be pummeled to death.

Channeling his power like he had done in the gym, he brought his right hand back and struck forward, rotating his entire body.

But Bill easily took the punch on his arm, not seeming fazed in the slightest.

Kaden was now starting to get scared. His attack hadn't hurt him at all. Had Bill been going to a dojo or something? It was the only thing that could explain this level of power.

Once again, Kaden brought up his guard just in time to block Bill's fist, but the force was so overwhelming it easily slipped through his guard again.

He was sent tumbling back from the punch to his face, falling through a table and breaking it.

Ah, he was starting to feel dizzy now. His back throbbed in pain from the hard landing.

But there was nothing he could do. His only powerful attack was the technique he had learnt in the dreamscape, but that was a sword technique, and he didn't have one now.

Was he going to die here? Bill was beyond pissed off for some reason, it was doubtful that words would be able to get through to him now.

And that was when he saw something. A way out, hope.

Beside him was a broken off wooden leg from the table he had just fallen through. He hadn't seen it at first, but now that he had, he grabbed it immediately. He really hoped that this would work, he didn't know for sure.

Bill was already coming closer, and he wouldn't have time to get up from the ground.

Not even sure if the technique could be done without the correct stance and footwork, Kaden held the wooden leg as if it was a sword, swinging it like he had done countless times when trying to imitate the technique.

And it was beautiful, hypnotizing even.

Just like he'd seen in the nightmare, the leg curved through the air and drew a beautiful arc. He felt as if he was brought back to that scene of death, standing in the middle of the roaring flames on that chaotic night, bloodshed all around him as the stars twinkled in the night sky.

And then the leg struck true, hitting Bill in the head with a tremendous force. It was an attack meant to be used with a sharp edge, but it worked just as well with a blunt weapon.

He heard the shrill scream of a woman as Bill fell limply to the floor, blood streaming out rapidly from a wound in his head.